"I can only do so much here. You gotta gimme something to work with." says Sleaze as he sits on his office desk.

"Why is this even necessary?" asks Ren from her chair next to Tegan's.

"Everyone has a job here. Just pick something, lamb chop." says Tegan.

"I don't get why I can't just be your assistant."

"Heh, there's not much you can do to assist me."

"Ugh! I disagree." she says folding her arms.

"Can you fight?" asks Sleaze.

"Well ... no but that's what he's for."

"Can you perform under pressure?"

"What do you mean by pressure?"

"Hmm, let's do a little exercise. Put your hand on the desk."

"Err ok." She does as instructed. Sleaze holds her wrist down and pulls out a thick knife. "What's that for?"

"It is for chopping. Pick a finger or I'll cut your hand off."

"You're not serious."

"You have til I count to five."

"Yeah right."

"One."

"Just stop. This isn't cute."

"Two."

"Really, let me go." She tries and fails to pull herself away.

"Three."

"Hey! I said let go!"

"Four."

"Tegan! Get him off of me! Get him- Ugh! GET OFF!" She thrashes about and slaps Sleaze with her free hand but can't break free!

"Fi-"

"THIS ONE! THIS ONE! THIS ONE!" Her hand closes into a fist with her pinky finger exposed! Just in time! Sleaze slams his knife down, lobbing off her dainty digit! "AAAAAGH! WAAAAAGH! WHY! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!"

"Hmm ... we'll figure something out." he says wrapping her bloody hand with a handkerchief before releasing her. "Briar! Take Ms. Ren to the lobby and get her an escort to the MD."

Before Ren can oppose the order, she's ushered away by Briar.

"I'll see you at home!" Tegan calls with a wave. Once she's gone he turns back to Sleaze. "Fuckin, thank you, man."

"Anytime. So what's the story with her?" asks Sleaze. "You two seem attached."

"I've known her most of her life ... promised her parents I'd protect her. At some point she got the idea that I was her boyfriend and I never really said I wasn't."

"Why not?"

"I dunno ... she's sweet ... at times ... I guess."

"Sounds like YOU don't even believe that." he chuckles.

"It's just that she's ALWAYS all up on me."

"You said you've been apart for a while. She misses you, bro."

"Dude ... she was like that before. I hoped if nothing else she'd learn she could be alright without me."

"Damn. Well I got you whenever you need a break. She's still got plenty of fingers." he jokes.

"Heh, yeah. That. Not what I expected. Is that like an actual test?"

"It is. We use it to gauge critical thinking. Seen a lot of fingers fly."

"So she did well?"

"She's average. We look for a few things. Mostly to see if applicants are able to consider all their options."

"Options? You only gave two options."

"Did I, bro? I'll give you a chance to be above average." Sleaze uses the knife to point at Tegan's hand then to his desk.

"Cool." Tegan slams his hand down on the desk with a determined grin.

"Pick a finger." Sleaze holds his wrist down. "I'll count to three."

"Huh? She got until five."

"One."

"Alright then."

"Two."

"Got it. That one." He points to Sleaze's index finger.

"Good. You kinda had an advantage since the point is to be caught off guard but you are above average, my guy."

"Whoo! What do I win?"

"A shiny new sense of superiority to go with your temporary freedom."

"I'd better take it for a spin then." says Tegan as he stands from his seat.

"What're you planning on doing before going home to the Mrs?"

"I was gonna try to track down your sister."

"Tempy's usually at the 88. I'll get you a ride if you want."

"Not that sister."

"Unbelievable. You had me mutilate your girlfriend so you can bore yourself ... with Wraith?"

"The mutilating was your idea. Again, thank you." They bump fists. "And yeah. I gotta sort shit out with her. Got a feeling she's mad about Ren being in her place."

"She probably doesn't give a shit."

"I know ... but the way she looked at me. She's so damn impossible to read."

"You can't read what isn't written, bro."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Wraith isn't deep or layered or hard to understand. You're thinking about her way too much."

"Maybe I am ... but I can't stop. I don't care if I'm stupid for trying or whatever. There's something about her that just ... makes me want to be worthy, y'know?"

Sleaze looks away for a brief moment. "Yeah ...."

"I can't tell if she digs me, wants me dead ... I wish I knew for sure."

"... I know who does."

Sleaze takes Tegan up to the Queen's District to have a chat with an expert on how Wraith's mind works. They approach a large, excessively chained, metal double door that has been broken open. It's welded in place and only a thick dark curtain hanging in the doorway separates the room from the hallway. Sleaze leads his friend inside and they're both instantly greeted by the familiar sweet and sour aroma of death. The middle of the room seems to have once been a cage but the bars extending from the deep red floor high into the ceiling are busted and splayed apart. Various heads, torsos, limbs and bones are skewered or draped onto the bars. Some fresh. Some not so fresh. The gruesome centerpiece distracts from how lavishly decorated the rest of the room is but what stands out the most is the display table inside the useless cage. It holds two black skeletal arms with the hands encased in some sort of combination of metal and stone. Unlike the other body parts, these arms are clearly not from an adult. A part of a strange ritual maybe? No. They're presented more like a trophy.

"Gentleman, you've caught me in the middle of a meal. Had I known I'd be receiving company, I would have had someone tidy up." Descil descends behind them holding a mangled but living female guard in his arms. Both are naked and covered in blood.

"Errg, dammit, bro. We can come back." says Sleaze. "Sorry to ... interrupt." He waves a weak hello at Descil and his guest. Despite missing huge chunks of her body, she smiles and waves back, casually twirling her fingers in her bloody hair with her left hand.

"Oh, no. You came all this way to see me with everyone's favorite soldier in tow. It must be important." He palms his meal's face and pushes her to the ground. She looks up at him with zeal and poises herself to pounce at him. With a point of his finger he halts her attack and she relocates to a pile of cushions on the other side of the room. "Now, speak your business."

"Sleaze tells me you know a thing or two about Colonel Wraith." says Tegan.

"Quite the understatement. Wraith and I are anagolous to each other. Kindred."

"Never woulda guessed you were that close."

"We share an affinity for both power and the freedom to obtain it. However, her ambition is focused on her rank and combat. She seeks to prove herself as a warrior." He walks up to Sleaze while still addressing Tegan. "But anyone in the 8SR could tell you that." His hand lightly caresses Sleazes cheek and is immediately smacked away for doing so. Descil gives him a patronizing pout. "It's unsurprising that she makes you feel inadequate."

"Umm, what?" replies Tegan.

"There is nothing I can tell you about Wraith that she wouldn't tell you herself. Yet, here you stand. Since you clearly lack the confidence to consult the source, I'll spare you the embarrassment of attempting to do so. Leave her be."

"Funny. Everyone except Wraith tells me that."

"How providential that you joined the military, the perfect place to hone your listening skills." says Descil with a smirk.

"That won't be much help. So far they haven't trained me to listen to naked sadistic assholes."

"It's a lesson you'd benefit from learning. Coincidentally it's a subject I excell in teaching."

"Y'know, we should just get going." Sleaze tells his friend while continuing to swat off Descil's affectionate hands.

"Oh, Sleazy, boy. You really should stay and play with me sometime. I promise to handle you delicately."

"No way, bruh."

"Pity. The experience might toughen you up. After all, the women you and your friend desire aren't interested in weaklings." Descil waves a hand at Sleaze before he can reply. "However you interpret that is irrelevant," He faces Tegan. "much like the lust fueled curiosity that brought you here. At the very least your cowardice has prevented you from interfering with our dear colonel's duties. I'm tempted to prolong your visit to ensure that continues to be the case."

"Such eloquent cock blocking. Even with being a prick you make a good point though. I should've just talked to Wraith ... so I'll go do that now." With a quick salute Tegan turns for the exit. He only takes a couple steps before he's stopped by Descil, standing behind him and resting his hands on his shoulders. It feels as if he's holding something round against him in his bloody palm.

"Mother has claimed ownership of your life which is the only reason I have yet to skin you and pluck the blood strings from your tender insides. This is also the reason I'm allowing you to leave. You are a clown, a fool to entertain a kingdom of killers. We accept you but do not delude yourself into believing that you belong here. You don't," He gently moves his grip and the tiny object closer to his neck. "but I know how you can change that."

"I'm not fucking you, dude. Throw that dick in reverse or just kill me right now. For real."

"Foolish remarks aside, the easiest method to impress the colonel is to outrank her."

"That ... actually makes sense."

"Of course it does. Naturally she won't let you do such a thing but you will earn her respect."

"You told me to leave her be ... but then you help me?"

"No thanks are needed. If nothing else, your efforts to surpass her will motivate her to continue to excel. Since you insist on pursuing her, you might as well not waste her time in the process." He takes his hands off of Tegan, revealing he's been holding an eyeball. "Now unless you intend to help me finish my meal, I bid you farewell." he says before tossing the eye in his mouth like a mint.

Hearing that, Sleaze hastily shoves Tegan out of the room. Descil idles in place listening to the pair quietly argue on the other side of the curtain until their voices fade down the hallway.

"you leT hIM livE."

"I'm interested in seeing how far he's willing to go to get what he wants." says Descil as he joins his guest on the pile of cushions he banished her to.

"Why bOthEr?"

"Because believe it or not I do indulge in harmless fun."

"fuN with nO harM is nOt REal fun."

"Mmmm, you're not wrong." he moans clutching her throat with one hand and touching her lips with the other. She tenderly starts to suck on his fingers until all four are in her mouth. "Let's resume our real fun."

With a sharp tug, he yanks her jaw out of place! Another tug quickly separates it from her head! Descil follows the cascading blood down her body with kisses, making sure to bite off and swallow hunks of flesh with each one. Her legs open as he reaches her waist and continues downward. He slurps up as much blood as he can before focussing on her clit with his tongue, causing her to wiggle and make awful but pleased gurgling noises from her exposed esophagus. Both of his thumbs enter and spread her lower lips as he licks. Then, KURCK! KUKAACK! Bones break, flesh tears and more blood saturates the prince as he splits his meal in two! Her grunts, hisses and gulps fall silent as her eyes glaze over. Descil shuts his eyes and rubs his hands down his face and chest, smacking his lips while savoring the kill. Suddenly, he rips into his meal with his teeth, scarfing down the spilled innards like a starved wild animal, stripping meat from bones and bones from joints, tossing aside unwanted parts as he goes. The carcass is barely recognizable by the time he's had his fill. He fishes through the remaining lumps of what was once organs and muscle tissue until he retrieves a small stone wrapped in hair.

After an odd back and fourth, Tegan and Sleaze find themselves up in the barracks, both in a hurried stride on their way to the war room to see Wraith.

"Bro, whatever you're gonna do, don't!" says Sleaze. "Wraith WILL end you if you challenge her for her spot."

"I got this." says Tegan.

"You really don't."

"No one beats me but me."

"History would disagree."

"You don't know my history."

"You're about to BE history if you do this."

Tegan shrugs off his friend's warning with a chuckle but gives no other response before throwing open the war room door and barging in! Starve, Rock, Wraith and Temptation all sit around a table, each looking at the intruders with varying degrees of confusion.

"Teegs? What the fuck?" asks Tempy.

"General Starve!" Tegan shouts.

"What do you want? Be quick." orders Starve.

Tegan walks up to him, looks him in his middle eye and speaks. 

"I challenge you for the position of general."